The strange coral lives in the cave

A species of coral clings to the ceiling of deep caves in the Pacific Ocean and they grow normally despite receiving very little light.

Livescience reports scientists from the Center for Biodiversity in the Netherlands have discovered new corals in the Coral Triangle in the western Pacific Ocean. They are distributed at a maximum depth of 35m. They called them Leptoseris troglodyta.

Leptoseris troglodyta coral grows
no symbiosis with algae. (Photo: Livescience)

Most corals are symbiotic with zooxanthellae algae. Photosynthetic algae to produce hydratcarbon and oxygen. Corals use these substances to synthesize calcium carbonate - their 'spine' .

Due to its ability to grow in low light conditions, L.troglodyta has no symbiotic algae. The team thinks they are related to corals that live at depths greater than 40m.

"The coral that we recently discovered makes polyps smaller than their relatives and grows quite slowly," said Bert Hoeksema, the team leader.

Hoeksema and colleagues will study to find out why coral L.troglodyta can grow without symbiotic algae. Research results will help them better understand the relationship between the two species. That relationship is very important for corals. As sea temperature rises - the trend is happening in the oceans today - many corals will push their algae symbiotic out of their bodies. This phenomenon will lead to coral death.

Reference: Scientias